Nothing lasts for ever in football and for that reassuring cliche Gerard Houllier is probably exceedingly grateful.

Having been told by all and sundry that he had accepted sole responsibility for Liverpool's fortunes at precisely the wrong time, the Frenchman will have permitted himself a wry smile late on Saturday night as he settled down to Match of the Day with a glass of classy red.

As he watched his side climb purposefully out of a spell of impoverished form by inflicting Aston Villa's first league defeat of the season, Houllier will have learned that in Spain, as in England, unbeaten sequences are there to be ended.

This evening Liverpool contest a place in the last eight of this season's UEFA Cup with Celta Vigo, who were surprisingly dislodged from the top of the Spanish First Division at the weekend after succumbing, Villa-style, to a struggling team Alaves.

But Celta, who overcame Villa in the competition's previous round, are unbeaten at home in domestic football for precisely a year. Perhaps more significantly they have no regard for reputation, something they underscored 10 days ago in defeating Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium. They now lie second in the table behind Mallorca.

"They are a fine team, a passing team which can be both flamboyant and creative," Houllier said.

It is conceivable that this tie may have been settled in Valencia three weeks ago when Paul Ince and Steve McManaman collected three-and two-game suspensions respectively.

Of late McManaman has tended to reserve his better moments for the European arena, so his absence will be served up, as will Ince's, as a mitigating factor should the wheels come off again in Celta's Balaidos Stadium.

Houllier will probably stick with the five-man defence which proved reasonably efficient against Villa, with Stig Bjornebye replacing the injured Steve Harkness on the left.

Ince's likely deputy is Jason McAteer, whose tireless running could prove invaluable against opponents whose success has been based upon a commendable work rate.

Houllier has made Jamie Redknapp captain in the absence of Ince, and Redknapp said: "We have to get on with our jobs and make sure we get through this round and have them both back for some part of a quarter-final tie in March.

"We have no choice but to think like that. We know it won't be easy against Vigo, but they lost for the first time this season on Saturday so they may well be vulnerable."

Liverpool have decided to hold fire on any move to bring AZ 67 Alkmaar defender Peter Wijker to Anfield.

Houllier went to Holland on Sunday to watch Wijker and his Dutch team achieve a goalless draw away to Sparta Rotterdam.

Liverpool are desperate to sign a big man for the back line, and Houllier wanted to see for himself how the 6 ft 3 in, uncapped defender shaped up.

Alkmaar want £3 million, but Houllier said: "We will not be making a move just yet but keep monitoring his performances and see how he progresses."

Meanwhile, Rangers will have to suppress the instinct to find a bolt-hole in the aftermath of a 5-1 thrashing by their fiercest rivals at Ibrox tonight when they face another rigorous test.

Mild relief arrived yesterday with the news that the Parma striker Enrico Chiesa had been left at home with a hamstring injury but Scots' joy would have been tempered by the fact that Chiesa's place will be taken by another formidable forward, the Argentinian Abel Balbo.

Rangers are weakened by the suspension of the Dutch midfielder Giovanni van Bronckhorst. But Jonatan Johansson, the Finn who is their leading scorer in Europe with five goals, looks likely to return from injury. The central defender Lorenzo Amoruso is also back after a two-match domestic ban.

"Within three days of the Celtic defeat our players have a chance to show how they can really perform," said Rangers manager Dick Advocaat. "They have to take that chance."

Advocaat will probably tinker with Rangers' normal style to counter the Italians' formation, in which the Argentinian Juan Veron is a huge influence, playing behind the strikers. "I don't like to change how our team plays, especially in a home match," he said, "but the way Parma play, we have to think about things like that."